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The Benefits of Whole Grains on  Reducing High Cholesterol

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 65 million Americans are affected by high blood cholesterol.  This is a serious condition that increases your risk for heart disease; the higher the levels, the greater the risk.  It is most often a silent kind of health issue, and you may not even know you have this condition until it has led to heart disease.  It is recommended that everyone over the age of 20 gets their blood cholesterol checked at least once every five years (more often for those with heart disease of any type, or with any family history of high cholesterol and/or heart disease), and to educate yourself about lipid profiles and about food and lifestyle choices that will help you reach safer cholesterol levels to ensure better health.

Lowering cholesterol levels that are too high helps to lessen your risk for developing heart disease, which will also help to prevent heart attacks. Every day, there are more and more studies that confirm the benefits of many types of whole grains helping to reduce high cholesterol levels.  The official definition from the Whole Grains Council of what whole grains are is:  "Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed. If the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, and/or cooked), the food product should deliver approximately the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed."

Wheat is the grain that people seem to be most familiar with. Unfortunately, wheat or derivatives of wheat are found in most of the foods that Americans tend to eat.  We have been eating so much wheat through the recent generations that our bodies are reacting adversely to it.  A wide variety of foods are much better assimilated and utilized by the body than a diet that consists of the same foods, again and again.  There are many other delicious whole grains besides wheat to eat including amaranth, barley, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, brown, wild and colored rice, rye, sorghum (milo), teff and triticale.  And some possibly healthier and better tolerated forms of wheat, including bulgur, einkorn, emmer, farro, Kamut, spelt and wheatberries.

Making the conscious choice to eat whole grains instead of refined grains lowers the risk of many chronic diseases.  Refining takes all of the real nutrition out of the grains.  While the health benefits are most dramatic for those consuming at least 3 servings a day, some studies have shown reduced risks for disease and illness from as little as one serving a day. The size of one serving of whole grains is determined in the following way: 
1/2 cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain
1/2 cup cooked 100% whole-grain pasta
1/2 cup cooked hot cereal, such as oatmeal
1 ounce uncooked whole grain pasta, brown rice or other grain
1 slice 100% whole grain bread
1 very small (1 oz.) 100% whole grain muffin
1 cup 100% whole grain ready-to-eat cereal

While many people now understand the benefits of whole grain oats on helping to reduce high cholesterol levels, there are hundreds of other studies proving that other whole grains have the same effect. Italy's National Research Council (CNR) just published a study showing that healthy middle-age adults lowered total cholesterol by 4.3% and LDL ("bad") cholesterol by 4.9%, by eating whole grains instead of refined grains.

If you, like many Americans, get confused by what "good" and "bad" cholesterol mean, or what your own cholesterol numbers signify, the National Cholesterol Education Program explains the "lipoprotein profile" test which they determine as the best test of your total cholesterol levels:
LDL is the "bad" cholesterol, which is the main source of cholesterol buildup and blockage in the arteries.  HDL is the "good" cholesterol, meaning that it helps keep the bad cholesterol from building up in the arteries.  Triglycerides are another form of fat in your blood. 

If it is not possible to get a lipoprotein profile done, knowing your total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol can give you a general idea about your cholesterol levels. If your total cholesterol is 200 mg/dL or more, or if your HDL is less than 40 mg/dL, you will need to have a lipoprotein profile done.  It is considered ideal to have your total cholesterol level be less than 200 mg/dL, your LDL level be less than 100 mg/dL, and your HDL level be more than 60 mg/dL.  Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood.

Adding more whole grains into your diet is not only helpful for lowering bad cholesterol, and raising the good cholesterol, but is also healthy for your whole body and its many processes and functions.  Studies have also shown positive health effects on weight management, diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure, strokes, colorectal cancer, gum disease and a wide assortment of inflammatory kinds of conditions and diseases.